NEW YORK, Sept. 28 – Some of the world’s most famous dissidents and former political prisoners urged the UN today to suspend China, Cuba, Russia and Saudi Arabia from the UN Human Rights Council, which is now in session, and to expel Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. See full text below.

In a letter sent today to UN chief Ban Ki-moon and rights commissioner Navi Pillay, the international group of activists submitted draft resolutions on the human rights situations in China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, for adoption by the UN’s General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.

The dissidents adopted their declaration and action plan as the outcome of last week’s We Have A Dream: Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution, organized by 22 human rights NGOs. Signatories include Yang Jianli and Rebiya Kadeer, former Chinese political prisoners; Ahmad Batebi, former Iranian political prisoner; Fidel Suarez Cruz, former Cuban political prisoner; Grace Kwinjeh, Zimbabwean dissident and torture victim; and Jacqueline Kasha, Ugandan activist for LGBT rights. Witnesses included Irwin Cotler, a Canadian MP and counsel to prisoners of conscience, and David Lowe of the National Endowment for Democracy.

On behalf of the dissidents, activists and 22 human rights NGOs that participated in the We Have A Dream: Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution, on September 21-22, 2011, I present to you below the outcome document adopted there, being the Declaration of Dissidents for Universal Human Rights. It includes eight draft resolutions on compelling human rights situations. We respectfully ask you to please bring these to the attention of the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, both of which are now in session, as well as all other relevant departments of the United Nations, and to support urgent United Nations action on these country situations and thematic areas of concern.

Thank your for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Hillel C. Neuer
UN Watch

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Declaration of Dissidents for Universal Human Rights

United Nations, New York, September 22, 2011

We, former prisoners of conscience, dissidents, victims of torture, persecution, and repression, fighters for freedom, democracy and the dignity of all human beings, gathered here at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, on 22 September 2011, do hereby declare:

Seventy years ago this week, in the face of Nazi tyranny, nations gathered in London to proclaim the Four Freedoms of the Atlantic Charter that are the birthright of all human beings and the hallmarks of democratic society: Freedom of speech and of belief, freedom from fear and from want. These four freedoms form the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Two decades ago, the Soviet Union, the other great tyranny of the twentieth century, collapsed amidst the cry for freedom that first resonated through its satellite states. Today, across the Middle East, we are witnessing that same cry echoing from Cairo to Tripoli to Damascus, as old regimes are swept aside or cling to power through ever more brutal means.

Inspired by the courage and idealism shown by ordinary women and men fighting for basic freedoms across the world; enraged by the continuing evils perpetrated by authoritarian states, including genocide, torture, state-sanctioned violence, rape and starvation as an instrument of political repression, the imprisonment of thousands of men and women of conscience, the silencing of dissenting voices, the xenophobic persecution of minorities, the denial of freedom of thought, belief and worship; we, survivors of repression in our own countries of origin, recognize that human beings can be trampled, but their spirit can never be crushed.

At this decisive moment in the struggle for universal human rights, we celebrate the defeat of Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi and of other brutal regimes in the surrounding region.

To the remaining tyrants and dictators around the globe, who have systematically violated the rights of their peoples, we give notice: Your time has passed. No more will the world suffer your specious arguments to justify policies and practices of abuse and repression in the name of claimed exceptions to the universality of basic human rights. Belonging to diverse faiths and cultures, and originating from all regions of the world, we, the authors of this Declaration, unequivocally reject such dishonest apologetics, which suit the interests of the despots, and not the interests, or ideas, of their peoples.

We assert that the writ of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on 10 December 1948 by the General Assembly, continues to run through all societies, and for all times. The talk of tyrants is refuted by the cries of prisoners—who, from the dungeons of Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Tibet, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and elsewhere—demand justice and freedom on the basis of these universal laws and eternal truths.

Therefore, in renewing the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we call on the United Nations to make the dream of the four freedoms a reality. We urge the United Nations General Assembly to pursue a new agenda for human rights, and call for the Member States to:

Remove tyrannical governments from special positions of power in the United Nations human rights system. Welcoming the United Nations suspension this year of the Gaddafi regime from the Human Rights Council, and the successful campaigns to prevent the election of Iran and Syria to that body, we call on the United Nations to continue on the path of reform, including by:

Adopt the annexed resolutions on compelling situations of human rights that have hitherto been neglected or ignored at the United Nations;

Champion the cause of civil society by speaking out against the persecution of human rights defenders and dissidents, and for the freedom of non-governmental organizations to advocate for an end to repressive laws and practices;

Guarantee the freedoms of speech, the press, and assembly, being the lifeblood of democracy;

Condemn the ongoing censorship, harassment and imprisonment of Internet fighters for freedom and democracy;

Demand equality, tolerance and freedom for minorities everywhere;

Defend women who are victims of state-sanctioned subjugation; and

Protect children from ideologies of hatred and intolerance that promote contempt for fundamental human rights.